Was It Something I Said?

Along with the chocolate and a candy cane or two, my Christmas stocking always held a banana and an orange. It’s a simple way to get kids to eat breakfast on a busy morning.

Photo from clipart.com

Pimsleur offers the best audio program for learning Italian I have found, and I was sorry that it stopped at Level 3. Now, there is Italian Plus,which goes to the next level. It contains only 10 lessons, compared to 30 in the other levels, so it’s not quite as expensive. There is also a comprehensive set that contains all four levels, but it’s not currently available on Amazon.

When I was little, it was a Christmas tradition to find little bags of chocolate coins in our stockings. Yum! When I saw these at the grocery store (perfectly positioned for impulse buying), I couldn’t stop smiling.

Photo by Rosemary West

I was moving some things around in the kitchen, and left this cupboard standing open just for a couple of minutes while I was busy at the counter. While I wasn’t looking, Bob decided it looked very cozy.

Photo by Rosemary West

Unfortunately I forgot my camera when I left the house this morning. Snow was visible on the mountains. The temperature was just under 50F, and I figured it would get warmer. Ha! Although I had a hat and jacket, I was not adequately dressed for the wind chill as the temperature dropped and it began to rain. Between tests I took shelter in the cafeteria and the student lounge.

Photo by Rosemary West

Even on a cold, rainy day like this, the pool still has to be serviced. Paying someone to do it is so worthwhile!

Photo by Rosemary West

It hardly looks like December, even in South California. Temperatures in the 80’s are perfect for a visit to Lake Balboa.

Photo by Rosemary West

It was about 80 degrees outside when we stopped at a fast-food place for a cold drink. This woman was wearing Christmas-themed toe socks (patched on the heels with bright blue) with camouflage-striped flip-flops, blue crop pants, a ragged gray-green tank top and a sleeveless, beige cardigan. She caught our attention with her nasty cursing when the counter girl made an error and sold her three drinks instead of one. Neither of them was a native speaker of English, but they were forced to use English because it was the only language they had in common.

Photo by Rosemary West

These seagulls at Lake Balboa seem to be standing in formation.

Photo by Rosemary West

UCLA Extension has a new course called “Weekend Prep for Italian 3″. It sounds like a better class than the “Verborama” I took a couple of years ago. This offers a refresher of the fundamental skills, including important aspects of grammar and interactive activities. The textbook is Oggi In Italia, yet another overpriced textbook. The class meets three times, Feb 7, 8 and 14. It’s Italian 701, Reg# U73268 in the extension catalog.

Photo by Rosemary West